Nidhogg followed silently from a distance and soon noticed that most of the group were boys, younger than Rickert.
Only their leader was a shaky old man carrying a lantern. His aged eyes blinked dimly, the wrinkles on his face twitching occasionally as he slowly led the boys forward.
They entered a house, all cramming into a small room.
The old man raised his lantern overhead and skillfully tapped along the wall tiles. Soon, he found a section of masonry that gave a hollow sound. He pushed inward, and the entire section swung open.
At the same time, the wall pivoted, revealing a doorway.
A secret room... Nidhogg narrowed his eyes.
The old man waved to the boys behind him and, with a trembling gait, led them forward until he stood before the door.
He produced a ring of keys from his belt and squinted at them in the lantern light for a long time before selecting one and unlocking the iron lock on the gate.
Click—
The gate swung open. The old man led the boys inside, filing onto a path and moving forward.
Only when the lantern light had completely disappeared did Nidhogg emerge and step into that dark, secret passage.
He produced a miner's lamp from his golden brand.
Pippin had been a miner before joining the Hawk Company, so he often carried tools like hammers and miner's lamps. He had given this one to Nidhogg as a farewell gift.
Nidhogg lit the lamp, which burned animal fat, and walked forward along the path in the dim glow.
After a while, he encountered stone stairs leading upward.
At this moment, Nidhogg recalled the inner and outer structures of Doldrey that he had observed earlier. He could guess the purpose of this secret passage.
This passage connected the inner city to the main citadel. The place the old man and boys were heading was likely the gleaming heart of all Doldrey.
Nidhogg climbed the stone steps. Just as he was beginning to wonder at the length of this passage, he saw a faint light ahead.
He extinguished the miner's lamp, stored it away, and continued forward in darkness.
As he approached the light ahead, Nidhogg vaguely heard voices. Drawing closer, he realized there was another gate ahead, with light seeping through the cracks of a hidden door.
This was definitely something important.
Nidhogg carefully crouched behind the door and peered through the crack, listening to the voices within.
"Governor Gennon." The old man was half-bowed, speaking respectfully. "This is the tribute we've brought this time. Would you like to have a look?"
"Eh." A heavily bearded man spoke roughly and waved his hand. "You should call me 'Governor' outside. No need to call me that here. I don't want to frighten them."
"Yes, yes, Governor Gennon... Lord Gennon," the old man replied.
The bearded middle-aged man before him was the supreme commander of the northern front, Governor Gennon himself—the most powerful man in all Doldrey. Even General Boscogn had to obey his orders without question.
But Governor Gennon had many vices, which was why so many people catered to him. The old man had been entrusted to handle such matters.
However, Governor Gennon seemed to remember something. He was momentarily stunned, as if caught up in some memory.
The old man thought he had done something wrong and quickly asked, "You... is there something displeasing to you?"
"It's not that." Gennon waved his hand, his expression dreamy. "I was just remembering a gift I received once. It was the finest gift of all."
"Such a gift exists?" The old man was taken aback. "Where is it? I'll find it for you."
"You can't find it. He's now with the Midland army. The 'Reaper of the Battlefield,' leader of the Hawk Company—Griffith... Before he made a name for himself, he received a large sum of money from me."
The old man was even more astonished. "Unbelievable... It was that Griffith?"
"Indeed." Gennon trusted the old man deeply and slowly revealed the secret of that year.
"I still can't forget it. It was fine wine—wine worth its weight in gold!"
Gennon gave his highest praise at the time and said emotionally, "Honestly, I spent a great deal of effort, bribing everywhere to build connections, to become the supreme commander of the northern front. That wine was largely responsible..."
"I know that if Griffith wants to rise to a high position through military merit, sooner or later he'll attack Doldrey. And when that time comes... heh heh!"
The old man quickly prostrated himself on the ground and flattered, "You will surely get what you desire!"
"Hahaha..." Gennon laughed a few times, waved the old man toward the bed, and said, "Let's begin for tonight."
"Yes, yes." The old man slowly backed away, intending to go to the secret passage door. But he was shocked to find that the door was slowly swinging open—and a figure emerged from it.
The old man thought his presbyopia was acting up. He couldn't help rubbing his eyes and looking again. Only then did he clearly see that a living person was indeed standing there, holding a greatsword.
At that moment, his soul nearly fled his body. Fear surged from his toes to his scalp. His whole body tensed, and he rasped out a single word: "There's..."
"What's there?" Nidhogg looked coldly at the old man, who was so terrified he couldn't speak.
Fwoosh—
Nidhogg didn't bother with him further. His Lordsworn's Greatsword swept out and took the old man's head.
As the head tumbled and blood sprayed, all the boys who witnessed the scene were frightened senseless. They collapsed to the floor, staring at Nidhogg in terror.
Nidhogg ignored them. He walked straight forward, stepping through the crimson pool of blood, parting the curtain, and saw Governor Gennon rising from his bed.
Governor Gennon had heard voices and put on his shoes. He turned around impatiently. "Didn't I say 'that's enough for tonight'? What else do you...?"
His words cut off abruptly when he saw the stranger beside him, holding a blood-soaked greatsword. This was clearly not one of his servants.
"You... you are..."
Fear constricted Governor Gennon's throat. He stammered for a moment, and it took him a long time to compose himself.
Realizing the man before him was likely an assassin, his survival instincts kicked in. "Whatever you want, I'll give it to you..."
Nidhogg thought for a moment, then smiled and replied, "Perfect timing. Then I'll borrow your head."
Fwoosh—
The greatsword struck with deadly precision. The terror of death was frozen forever on Governor Gennon's face as the blade claimed his life.
The head tumbled from the edge of the bed. Blood sprayed in droplets across the curtains and walls, then separated into rivulets and pooled in the corners.
Only then did the boys in the room begin to scream in sheer terror.